Calling All Conferences: Big East beast

Cincinnati took a risk when it signed troubled high school star Lance Stephenson last spring. More and more, the gamble is paying off.

Stephenson scored 21 points to lead Cincinnati to a 71-69 upset of Connecticut on Wednesday in the Big East opener for both schools. His biggest contribution came in the game's final moments.

With the score tied, Stephenson slashed toward the basket and drew a foul from Huskies forward Gavin Edwards with 0.7 seconds remaining. Stephenson made both foul shots to lift the Bearcats to victory.

Lance Stephenson has come through in Cincy. (Tom Uhlman/AP Photo)

Stephenson – whose off-court problems caused some recruiters to take a pass – is averaging 13.3 points for a Cincinnati squad that improved to 9-3 overall and 1-0 in conference play. The Bearcats play at Rutgers on Saturday.

Connecticut, meanwhile, has nothing to hang its head about following an outstanding comeback Wednesday in a tough road environment. The game was just another sign that the Big East – which appeared to be entering a bit of a down year – is as tough as ever.

Syracuse is undefeated, and Villanova and Georgetown have only one loss. Even Rutgers – which finished 15th in the conference race a year ago – appears to have made significant improvement. The Scarlet Knights gave No. 10 North Carolina all it could handle in Chapel Hill on Monday before faltering down the stretch.

Bottom line: As strong as the Big 12 has been this season, the Big East still reigns supreme.

North Carolina State – No one is ready to predict an NCAA tournament berth for the Wolfpack, but it's clear that Sidney Lowe's squad is becoming a much, much better team. N.C. State's comeback attempt in last week's two-point loss at Arizona made for one of the more exciting games of the season thus far. The Wolfpack also turned in a strong effort in a seven-point loss at Wake Forest. Javier Gonzalez and Tracy Smith are big-time players.

FALLING

Clemson – Once again, the Tigers are one of college basketball's greatest enigmas. One day they're beating formidable opponents such as South Carolina and Butler. The next they're blowing 23-point leads in a home loss against Illinois. Clemson's latest head-scratcher came Tuesday night, when they squeaked past South Carolina State 70-67 at home. Not what you'd expect from the country's 21st-ranked team.

THREE TO WATCH

Saturday

Seton Hall at Virginia Tech – The Pirates are one of the few formidable opponents on Virginia Tech's non-conference schedule.

Sunday

Xavier at Wake Forest – The Skip Prosser Classic should be a good one, as both teams are strong.

Clemson at Duke – Two ranked teams go head-to-head in the ACC opener for both schools.

15.Providence (8-5, 0-1) – The Friars open Big East play with back-to-back road games. (14).

16.DePaul (7-6, 0-1) – Mac Koshwal is back – and it hasn't even mattered. (16)

RISING

Marquette – Even though they lost, it was tough not to be impressed with the Golden Eagles in their two-point setback at No. 6 West Virginia on Tuesday. If Marquette can go into Morgantown and almost win then it can clearly compete with any team in this conference. Don't be surprised if Buzz Williams' squad finishes fourth or fifth in the Big East. Then again, it could also place seventh or eighth. Still too early to tell, but it was definitely a promising start.

FALLING

DePaul – This Blue Demons team doesn’t appear to be that much better than the one that went winless in the Big East last season. In a recent road loss to Florida Gulf Coast, DePaul shot just 34.4 percent and made just 12 of 27 free throws. Jerry Wainwright's squad has now lost 13 straight road games.

THREE TO WATCH

Friday

West Virginia at Purdue – Only six unbeaten teams remain in college basketball, and two of them are in this game.

Saturday

Villanova at Marquette – The Golden Eagles let one get away against West Virginia. Lazar Hayward needs to come up big to keep it from happening again.

Louisville at Kentucky – Lots of eyes will be on this game. Unfortunately, the score may get ugly.

David Lighty is buoying the Buckeyes. (Jay LaPrete/AP Photo)

BIG TEN

1.Purdue (12-0, 1-0) – Four of the Boilermakers' next five games are against Top 25 teams. (1)

2.Michigan State (10-3, 0-0) – Tom Izzo is upset with Kalin Lucas for a lack of leadership. (2)

3.Wisconsin (10-2, 0-0) – Two of the Badgers' first three league games are on the road. (3)

9.Penn State (8-5, 0-1) – The Nittany Lions' last four losses have come by five points or less. (9)

10.Indiana (6-6, 0-0) – Who will step up in Maurice Creek's absence? (10)

11.Iowa (5-8, 0-1) – The Hawkeyes played their best game of the season in Tuesday's loss to Purdue. (11)

RISING

Minnesota – With former coach Clem Haskins in the stands for the first time since his messy exit from the school, the Gophers defeated Penn State on Tuesday behind 29 points from Lawrence Westbrook. Tubby Smith has done an excellent job of keeping his squad focused amid a handful of off-court distractions. Even without Royce White, Minnesota remains a longshot conference title contender.

FALLING

Indiana – The loss of leading scorer Maurice Creek to a knee injury has put a major dent in Tom Crean's rebuilding project. Creek led all freshman scorers with 17.6 points per game. Without him, Indiana will be hard-pressed to finish higher than 10th in the conference race. Crean is a good enough coach to get the program back on track. It may just take a bit longer than he originally planned.

THREE TO WATCH

Friday

West Virginia at Purdue – This is easily the toughest test of the season thus far for the Boilermakers.

Saturday

Michigan State at Northwestern – The Wildcats will be juiced for one of the most-anticipated games in Evanston in years.

Sunday

Ohio State at Michigan – The Wolverines can get back on track with a victory over the Evan Turner-less Buckeyes.

12.Colorado (8-4, 0-0) – A victory at Tulsa Saturday would be huge. (12)

RISING

Oklahoma State – The Cowboys will enter Saturday's game at Rhode Island on a five-game winning streak. James Anderson is averaging 21.8 points to lead four players scoring in double figures. Marshall Moses has developed into a rebounding machine. Oklahoma State has played a relatively weak schedule, but the victories and success should give Travis Ford's squad some momentum as Big 12 play begins.

FALLING

Texas Tech – Pat Knight has done a phenomenal job with a Red Raiders squad that won just three conference games a year ago, but Texas Tech has to learn to play better outside of Lubbock. It had to fight back from a double-digit deficit to win at TCU and then lost at Wichita State and New Mexico after digging itself into holes early. The Red Raiders will face even tougher road environments in the Big 12.

THREE TO WATCH

Saturday

Kansas at Temple – The Owls, who have already defeated Villanova, could prove to be the Jayhawks' toughest non-conference opponent.

Sunday

UTEP at Texas Tech – This is hardly a cakewalk for the Red Raiders, who will be facing a Miners squad that added Louisville transfer Derrick Caracter at the semester break.

Wednesday

Duke vs. Iowa State in Chicago – The Cyclones have enough talent to pull the upset, but they won't have a prayer if Craig Brackins or Marquis Gilstrap get into foul trouble.

Cal – The return of Theo Robertson has given the Bears a boost. All of a sudden Cal looks strong enough to contend for the Pac-10 title. Remember, Robertson didn't play in losses against New Mexico, Syracuse and Ohio State. The Bears' other loss was last week against Kansas. I can't see any scenario – other than a key injury – in which Mike Montgomery’s squad finishes any lower than third in the conference race.

FALLING

Arizona – Just when Nic Wise's game-winning shot against North Carolina State was causing everyone to feel good again, BYU stormed into Tucson and annihilated Sean Miller's squad 99-69. The Cougars are a good team, but even Miller probably never thought he’d see the day when the Wildcats would lose by 30 points to a team from the Mountain West.

THREE TO WATCH

Thursday

Oregon at Washington State – Tajuan Porter's presence will make a huge difference for the Ducks, who have won four straight.

Arizona State at UCLA – The Sun Devils will be favored – but they're not nearly as good as their record hints.

Saturday

Arizona State at USC – Two of the Pac-10's top Xs and Os coaches – Herb Sendek and Kevin O'Neill – go head-to-head.

Alex Tyus is Florida’s catalyst. (Phil Sandlin/AP Photo)

SEC

1.Kentucky (14-0, 0-0) – John Wall had a school record 16 assists against Hartford on Tuesday. (1)

Mississippi State – The Bulldogs entered Thursday's game against San Diego on an eight-game win streak. That number is likely to reach 10 by the time Mississippi State travels to Oxford for its SEC opener against Ole Miss on Jan. 9. With Ravern Johnson averaging 15.4 points and Jarvis Varnardo blocking 5.3 shots and snaring 10.3 boards per game, Rick Stansbury's squad should give fits to every opponent remaining on its schedule.

FALLING

LSU – The Tigers have played four good teams (Connecticut, Arizona State, Washington State and Xavier) and lost to each of them. The Washington State loss was two-point setback. The others came by an average of 23 points. LSU has three nice players in Tasmin Mitchell, Storm Warren and Bo Spencer, but the dropoff is huge after that.

THREE TO WATCH

Thursday

Tennessee at Memphis – The Vols are much more talented than the Tigers but, other than Kentucky's Rupp Arena, this is as tough of a road environment as Tennessee will face all season.

Saturday

Baylor at South Carolina – The Gamecocks need some momentum entering SEC play. A victory against the one-loss Bears would give them just that.

Louisville at Kentucky – John Calipari –and Kentucky's fans – will get the best of Rick Pitino at Rupp Arena.

11.UTEP (9-2, 0-0) – Louisville transfer Derrick Caracter has made a huge difference for the Miners, who beat Oklahoma. (NR)

12.Memphis (9-2, 0-0) – The Tigers need to get more out of Will Coleman. (11)

RISING

BYU – The Cougars might be the best team from a non-power conference. Just ask the Arizona Wildcats, who suffered a 99-69 setback against BYU in Tucson earlier this week. Jimmer Fredette scored 49 points in the victory and is now averaging 21.6 points on the season. BYU has also defeated Nebraska, Nevada and Arizona State.

FALLING

UNLV – The Runnin' Rebels are a solid team. But Lon Kruger's squad may not be quite as good as some people originally thought. UNLV got hammered by Kansas State and then lost to USC in the championship game of the Diamond Head Classic. Still, it's way too early to jump to conclusions about the Runnin' Rebels. It's a long season, and Kruger is one of the best in the business.

THREE TO WATCH

Thursday

Tennessee at Memphis – This is the biggest game to date of Josh Pastner's young career.

Friday

Illinois State at Missouri State – Two of the top three teams in the Missouri Valley will face off when the Redbirds (10-2) take on the Bears (11-1) in Springfield.

Dayton at New Mexico – The Flyers may be one of the best non-glamour teams in the country, but it's darned near impossible to win in The Pit.